Book Review- A Court of Thorns & Roses Series

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The moment you may or may not have been waiting for....

My thoughts on the entire A Court of Thorns & Roses series by Sarah J. Mass.

I know, calm yourselves.

This post is my thoughts on the series up to A Court of Wings & Ruin. If I included ACOFAS I'm afraid I'd have to find a publisher. For reference, for anyone not familiar with the fandom abbreviations:

ACOTAR- A Court of Thorns & Roses

ACOMAF- The Best in the series a.k.a. A Court of Mist & Fury

ACOWAR- A Court of Wings & Ruin

We're going to start with the beginning. Why? Because that's where it starts, duh. I will warn you now, there will be spoilers for each book in each individual review. If you haven't started the series and do not wish to be spoiled, or have only read so far into the series, please be aware of the spoilers for that particular book.

A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Plot: ♥♥♥♥♥

Characters: ♥♥♥♥♥

World Building: ♥♥♥♥♥

Flow: ♥♥♥♥♥

  I understand there are mixed reviews about this book within the series. I personally really enjoyed it. Two things to note about this book in particular, it is very much a part 1 and 2 story where the plot is really divided. The other is that it's rating as a book on it's own I think is very different within the series. If you look at just ACOTAR, it's an 8/10 for me. In the series, it's closer to a 6/10. The first half of the book is slower than the second half as well, which is why I think the plot is divided rather than a continuous story.

   To start with the characters, I didn't love Feyre until she was Under the Mountain. Prior to that, when she was found and fell in love with Tamlin I was underwhelmed in general. There was some internal reflection on her character that was cool to read, such as her struggle with purpose after finding her family comfortable without her. Feyre didn't become a really good character for me until she chose to be brave and face Amarantha.

   Tamlin I actually could say I liked, but only in this book and just as a friend. He really took some misguided steps throughout the book, and I'm not talking about his character in book 2. What I think was one of his most endearing qualities was his need to be a rock for those he loved. He offered stability for Feyre and her family by making sure they could survive. Sending Feyre back to the mortal lands was obviously a huge mistake and although he did it to spare her from Amarantha and the curse, he could have still waited a little bit longer before resorting to cutting ties with her. I really started to dislike Tamlin while he was Amarantha's captive. It was described that his behavior was because he wanted to protect his feelings of Feyre from Amarantha's cruelty, there were some missed opportunities. In the books it was stated that Tamlin wasted his opportunity to help Feyre in any way when they met for their make-out sesh during the party and at that point in the book is when I knew this guy was an idiot. It made me totally uninterested when Tamlin killed Amarantha in the end.

  I love Lucien. There's something about his sassy-ness and that magic eyeball and him being the son of the High Lord of Autumn that just makes me love him. I also appreciated that he was Feyre's friend, and although there was some jealousy from Tamlin, Lucien didn't show romantic interest in Feyre making it another love triangle. 

  Rhys in this book specifically I enjoyed. My favorite characters typically written in a book are the dark, villain-ish ones that are misunderstood. The man in the mask was certainly the cruel dark handsome type I'm just drawn too. It's a bonus that he's a cinnamon roll. 

  Again, I like a good villain. Amarantha was a really good one. I would have liked a bit more from her character in general, but the parts we did get of her were good. She rose to the cruel dangerous thing she was portrayed as during the trials and at the end, but she fell a little for me during the parties Rhys would drag Feyre to.

 Circling back to the plot, the trials Under the Mountain were written wonderfully in my opinion. From the moment Feyre was captured to the point that Rhys winnowed away realizing Feyre was his mate was worth the slow pacing at the beginning. I would have liked to learn a little more about the naga, suriel, holidays in the fae lands, and in general about the world more but I think the next book in the series really made up for it.

A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J. Maas

   Plot: ♥♥♥♥♥

Characters: ♥♥♥♥♥

World Building: ♥♥♥♥♥

Flow: ♥♥♥♥♥

   So we all know that ACOMAF is the real reason you read and re-read this series. It's where we fell in love with Rhys and discovered the Court of Dreams. Feyre overcame her depression and Tamlin showed his true, shitty colors. We also all found out we have a thing for stars and tan men with wings.

  Regardless of all the romance and the slow-burn of an epic love story, the first thing I think of when it comes to this book is Feyre's depression. I know, depressing, right? Before we can admire the High Lord with the wingspan we all care about, we have to go back to Feyre hatting that smug looking bastard. Feyre starts off super broken; unable to keep any of her food down, not sleeping properly, and fading into the background in her own home. She was engaged, planning a wedding, and overcame a tyrant for her love. Everything should be sunshine and rainbows.

 To break down the beginning again by character; Tamlin again is Master of Poor decisions. Rhys can break into people's minds and scramble some eggs, Tam can pretty much just tune out the entire world on his own, no daemati needed. Ianthe was obviously going to be bad news, just look at the way she's described; beautiful, lust-worthy, someone with an inkling of power. I mean if you really want to compare, she's physically described to look like Aelin and we all know, despite how lovable she is, that queen is trouble. Lucien I lost a little love for, but at the same time he's trying to find a way to be helpful for one person who is definitely suffering from PTSD and another who is either trying to also cope with PTSD or is suffering from his own. His actions to ignore it aren't excusable, however his behavior isn't that shocking either.

  Then comes in the knight in black armor to rescue Feyre from what will go down in YA literary history as the worst wedding ever. He whisks her away and gives her a distraction from how she's falling apart by teaching her useful things, like how emotionally crippling books can be when you know how to read and write them. That and living in the mountains is way better than Spring, which is the worst season out of all of them.

  As Feyre has her pretty little eyes opened a bit more to a purpose beyond being a High Lord's baby maker, Tamlin does the worst thing you can do to someone suffering from trauma and has claustrophobia by locking Feyre in his estate. The way Sarah wrote about Feyre's decline up to this point made me really interested in what the uphill climb was going to be like. I connected with Feyre as just a woman, a now really badass one but not somebody defined by a love interest and I was actually genuinely a little surprised when bam, Feysand was a thing.

   Don't get me wrong, I love Rhysand and he's totally a hunk, however I was also into seeing them just being non-committed to each other too. The way that Rhys would banter with Feyre, I thought maybe we'd get a book from left field that has a relationship that doesn't have I love yous. Then here comes all the tug-on-your-feelings writing that happens and I'm totally 1000% into Rhys and Feyre being mates and getting married and talking about babies. This is also great because it means Feyre doesn't stand in the way of myself and Tarquin because that would have been awkward.

  Throughout Feyre learning about her powers we get a little bit about the Court of Dreams and Court of Nightmares. We learn a lot about the former, specifically Cassian and Azriel, but I still wish we got more of Amren and Mor's story. I know that Mor is Rhys's cousin and her father wins Loser of the Year over Tamlin, but I'd like to know more about what responsibilities she has with the Court of Nightmares. This ties into, I wish we got a lot more time in Hewn City and learned about Rhysand's role and mask as this cruel, evil Lord. The evil bastard facade is what originally drew me into Rhys, so getting to know the Court of Nightmares was left out.

  I can't leave this out but I don't know how else to slide it in there, the Bone Carver was great. Again, dark characters are my favorite so I was totally into the prison visit, the carver requiring bones, and the fact that he was unbeknownst to them, visible as Rhysand Jr. The Weaver was cool too just because she tied in more of that old-timey folklore stuff.

  At the end of the book, when the Court of Dreams decides to slide into Hybern's DMs it was rushed which was weird because there was some thickness left in the book. "Hello big scary king with some magic spells that don't play by the rules, I'm just going to come and uh- disable your cauldron." Despite Cassian, Azriel, and Rhysand stating they cased the joint, they had no actual plan to break into Hybern. Obviously there would be wards on the cauldron, but nooooo don't use Feyre's badass curse-breaking powers to disable them before hand. Lets all go down this staircase together. Jinkies Scoob! The fact that the group was caught didn't bother me, just the lack of planning prior did. 

  As sick as it may be to say, the fact that they got caught kind of made me revealed because we then had a direction for the rest of the story. The queens using Nesta & Elain as guinea pigs was a little predictable. Lucien mating right away was eye-roll worthy. Tamlin selling out the Spring Court to Hybern for Feyre was superb, mostly because we all knew what was coming.

  

A Court of Wings & Ruin 

Plot: ♥♥♥♥♥

Characters: ♥♥♥♥♥

World Building: ♥♥♥♥♥

Flow: ♥♥♥♥♥

  I'd like to first start off this review by addressing the 2 heart rating for world building from above. This is book 3, okay. Why aren't half of the landmarks we've talked about in the first two books still not on the map? We know where Velaris and the Court of Nightmares is, still no marker for where Tamlin lives in his court. What exactly is the difference between a high fae and a lesser fae? One looks more human? Is the naga a lesser fae? Reading through the book, I wish I could go back to the map to reference where the human Queens live, or where Vassa is, or Drakon and Miryam. I had the same feelings while reading the Throne of Glass series and within that story it drove me far more crazy than in this one.

  On a more positive note. Feyre is our Queen now. Not because she's married to our Lord and Savior, Rhysand but because is a badass when it comes to making decisions on her own. Need an example? Read Part 1 of ACOWAR, appropriately named Princess of Carrion. It's the spoiler part that is solely how Feyre turned Tamlin's entire court against him, fucked with Ianthe, and murdered the Prince and Princess of Incest a.k.a. Dagdan and Brannagh. 

  Unfortunately, that was pinnacle Feyre through book three because it was on a downward glide into an anxiety pool of who Sarah was going to kill at the end of the war. Now much like in my review of ACOTAR, I'm going to break a lot of my feeling down by character and even better, by coupling.

  Lets start with my personal least favorite pairing in this story, Nesta and Cassian. Now we know they had some angst-y flirting in book two, and they are both hot heads at times, but like 100%; why? One of my least favorite things that happens in books, specifically SJM books, is every important character gets paired up romantically. I get that sex sells, okay. I'm from Nevada, where prostitution is still legal in most of the state. Is it really needed? Was Nessian really necessary? No!

  Nesta is a beautiful, hot tempered woman who would have been fine on her own. Sure it was great to see her soft spots around Cassian and at times I felt my fridged no melt a little bit. I would have rather had the effort put into these two go into Elain and WHOEVER at this point, she ends up with. I know people love it pre-A Court of Frost and Starlight, but I don't.

  Moving onto the other Archeron sister, the nice one who needs somebody to love. I can't pick a team between Elain & Azriel and Elain & Lucien. I like Azriel because he's gentle and kind and he's not torturing himself over Mor and maybe Elain will be the distraction that he needs when Mor tells him she romantically prefers women. I like Lucien because I feel like he hasn't been given the same opportunity as Azriel has. Feyre mentions in the book, why couldn't Elain & Az end up together and I just want to scream at her that she hasn't given Lucien enough of a chance because she's so against the ruthlessness of the mating bond. Like girl, you don't mind how ruthless it is when he's got you laying in paint and glowing like a Lite-Brite. Maybe just let Elain be Elain and figure it out on her own and stop pushing one or the other.

  Now, I know there was controversy about SJMaas characters not having enough variety and representation. I think for me, the biggest missed opportunity was having Amren be an asexual character. That and Varian's only character trait is that he has a thing for Amren which isn't a great base for an entire character. Amren could have been asexual and been the one to "die" and I would have been happy for her. Not because I want her to die, but because it was a happy ending option that was realistic.

  The next character we need to address in this list of couples is Morrigon and herself. I am so happy that she came out to Feyre. It was wonderful, it fit in like a perfect little puzzle piece to the stupid love triangle between herself, Cassian, and Azriel. This is the next love story I need from this set of characters, not Nessian garbage.

  And our final OTP is Rhysand and his own dark power. Yes it's an OTP because we all know Rhys can be conceded. Throughout the war specifically, he was written with this great power that was a turning point throughout the book. What I noticed is that it would tend to eclipse Feyre as a player in this game as well. She admits to not being as familiar in the battlefield as Rhys, but it was just written as if she didn't have anything to contribute when we've seen her master the High Lord's gifts. The entire Elain being kidnapped scene was written as if it was a reminder of "Hey, yeah I have some magic tricks I can do in case you forgot."

  Aside from Feyre taking a backseat in badass-ery. The war in general was actually written well. The battle scenes were great, fairly realistic. A lot of their loose ends came together to help, with their efforts to find Vassa, Feyre's father working with the humans, Miryam and Drakon showing up, etc. It made me excited for Kingdom of Ash in the Throne of Glass series. My favorite piece about Hybern, and what really fueled the war was that the motive was more than just a power hungry king, it was an entire people who felt wronged were raging in this war as the enemy. Removing just one persons lust and making it entire body of people really read as a better story for me.

   The only thing that irked me about the war when I first read this book was that everything ended up as a happy ending. Amren sacrificed herself and lived, Cassian and Azriel lived, Mor lives, Rhysand dies and then comes back. The only person who died was Feyre's dad and despite the whole "Plz forgive me for being a wooden stick through the rough parts" I didn't care for him so it was fine. To be honest it surprised me a little when I realized none of the main characters were lost, and then boom Rhys is dead thanks to the cauldron breaking and then oh wait no bb, Rhys made it don't worry.

  What I would have liked to see beyond the meeting of the Lords and humans was more of the folklore with Vassa, finding more about Miryam and Drakon since they're story reminds me of biblical stories with the parting of the sea, and also what Feyre saw in the Ourobous. I hope she does a similar binding to the Assassin's Blade with a few mini stories about these characters. One for Miryam and Drakon, one for Morrigan, and one for Vassa would be epic.

And that is it!

I was going to include A Court of Frost & Starlight in this review, but I think it's long enough. I will be doing a stand-alone review for ACOFAS in the next few weeks. I'm hoping to get a similar review to this one up before Kingdom of Ash comes out for the entire Throne of Glass series.

If you got this far congratulations, I tried to make it entertaining. If you have any comments, questions, or even constructive arguments feel free to post in the comments.